Cisco Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SRE

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SRB introduces support for a multiple address-family (multi-AF) VRF 
structure. The multi-AF VRF allows you to define multiple address families under the same VRF. A 
given VRF, identified by its name and a set of policies, can apply to both an IPv4 VPN and an IPv6 VPN 
at the same time. This VRF can be activated on a given interface, even though the routing and forwarding 
tables are different for the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. This configuration is called a multiprotocol VRF. 

Prior to Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SRB, you could create a single protocol IPv4-only VRF. You created 
a single-protocol VRF by entering the ip vrf command. To activate the single-protocol VRF on an 
interface, you entered the ip vrf forwarding (interface configuration) command. 

After the introduction of the MPLS VPN—VRF CLI for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs feature in Cisco IOS 
Release 12.2(33)SRB, you create a multiprotocol VRF by entering the vrf definition command. To 
activate the multiprotocol VRF on an interface, you enter the vrf forwarding command. 

The MPLS VPN—VRF CLI for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs feature introduces the vrf upgrade-cli 
multi-af-mode {common-policies | non-common-policies} [vrf vrf-name] command that forces VRF 
configuration migration from a single-protocol VRF model to a multiprotocol VRF model:

If the route-target policies apply to all address families configured in the multi-AF VRF, select the 
common-policies keyword.

If the route-target policies apply only to the IPv4 address family that you are migrating, select the 
non-common-policies keyword.

After you enter the vrf upgrade-cli command and save the configuration to NVRAM, the 
single-protocol VRF configuration is saved as a multiprotocol VRF configuration. In the upgrade 
process, the ip vrf command is converted to the vrf definition command (global configuration 
commands) and the ip vrf forwarding command is converted to the vrf forwarding command (interface 
configuration command). The vrf upgrade-cli command has a one-time immediate effect. 

You might have both IPv4-only VRFs and multiprotocol VRFs on your router. Once you create a VRF, 
you can edit it using only the commands in the mode in which it was created. For example, you created 
a VRF named vrf2 with the following multiprotocol VRF commands:

Router# configure terminal

Enter configuration command, one per line. End with CNTL/Z

Router(config)# vrf definition vrf2

Router(config-vrf)# rd 2:2

Router(config-vrf)# route-target import 2:2

Router(config-vrf)# route-target export 2:2

Router(config-vrf)# end

If you try to edit VRF vrf2 with IPv4-only VRF commands, you receive the following message:

Router# configure terminal

Enter configuration command, one per line. End with CNTL/Z

Router(config)# ip vrf vrf2

% Use ‘vrf definition vrf2’ command 

If you try to edit an IPv4-only VRF with the multiprotocol VRF commands, you would receive this 
message, where <vrf-name> is the name of the IPv4-only VRF: 

% Use ‘ip vrf <vrf-name>’ command